Would you rather have live bombing exercises conducted by the US Navy on a remote, desolate part of the island, or $250M in the local economy driven by the presence of the Navy base there?
Don't think too long, because the choice was made due to a powerful lobbying effort made by people who don't live there.
From the Washington Times: End of live bombing at Vieques makes base, jobs expendable
Put that one in the "Be careful, sometimes you get what you wish for" file. If the base is for training purposes, and that training cannot be done anymore, and the government is looking to close bases for consolidation purposes...well, DUH!
I heard a wacko -- sorry, enthusiastic -- catholic woman (involved with the Catholic Worker, I believe) talk about her experiences protesting Vieques. She seemed to make a very sensible, balanced appraisal, along with her equally sensible and balanced observations such as, "George Bush and Osama Bin Laden have the same banker." Her main scary story about the Navy occupation was that a local, who went into the bomb zone during a known training time, was killed. Damn Navy, bombing where they say they will, when they say they will -- how're the locals supposed to control themselves?
Anyway, it's a sad thing -- a cause that the idle, mental (in the sense of "cuckoo") rich protest, unthinkingly, without bothering with the consequences -- odd, that's what their protests are supposed to be against!